Oh sure, let Japan have nukes, then the next thing you know, some radical will gain control over them and launch them towards spots in the United States as retaliation for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Granted there wouldn't be anything left of Japan afterwards, but still.

Karma Chameleon:Hey, if the Israelis can embrace genocide, the Japanese should be able to embrace nukes.

Wat? If the Israelis have done as you say, they suck at it. There's a million or so Arabs in Israel proper and millions more in the Palestinian areas. Syria's probably killed more Arabs in a year than Israel has since 1948.

bluorangefyre:Oh sure, let Japan have nukes, then the next thing you know, some radical will gain control over them and launch them towards spots in the United States as retaliation for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Granted there wouldn't be anything left of Japan afterwards, but still.

We said that about the North Koreans too.

You know what happened? The massive program to develop nuclear weapons has only depleted further the dwindling resources in that country.

Nuclear weapons are HEAVILY resource intensive. Im curious what percentage of their GDP that the NK Nuke program wiped out. Or how many people had to starve to develop them.

The JAL pilot did fly a plane into the capitol during the State of the Union though, causing such mass casualties among long time politicians that (in Tom Clancy's world) caused doctors and engineers to run for office.

Depends on how much of the infrastructure you already have in place. Since Japan has a large civilian nuclear program, they may already have much of the enrichment equipment worked out (and a large stockpile of unprocessed plutonium in their reactor waste). Granted, modifications would be required -- it wouldn't be free -- but it'd be a hell of lot easier for them than it was for, say, the North Koreans.

Depends on how much of the infrastructure you already have in place. Since Japan has a large civilian nuclear program, they may already have much of the enrichment equipment worked out (and a large stockpile of unprocessed plutonium in their reactor waste). Granted, modifications would be required -- it wouldn't be free -- but it'd be a hell of lot easier for them than it was for, say, the North Koreans.

True, and any nuclear-capable state needs a "space program" to develop delivery systems for said nuclear weapons.

Plus early warning radars, protection, and a TON of other shiat.

Just seems like such a waste of money when they know the US would rape any country that messed with them.